[最後のセリフ] MacReady: Why don't we just wait here for a while... see what happens.
カーペンターによると黙示録三部作の1作目だそうだ。
This is the first film in what John Carpenter calls his Apocalypse Trilogy. The other two are Prince of Darkness (1987) In the Mouth of Madness (1995) あとの2作「パラダイム」と「マウス・オブ・マッドネス」の評価が 本作ほど高くないのが残念(私も未見)。 そのうち見ましょう。
Childs: You're gonna have to sleep sometime, MacReady. MacReady: I'm a real light sleeper, Childs. 眠りが浅い↑
Childs: So, how do we know who's human? If I was an imitation, a perfect imitation, how would you know it was really me? ↑ 完璧なイミテーションなら、本物と区別はつくのか。 The film was originally banned when released in Finland.
The original movie, The Thing From Another World (1951), took place at the North Pole. This version takes place at the South Pole. 南極と北極。 ちなみにオリジナルも見ている(LDを買った)。我ながらマニアだ。
Donald Pleasence was the original choice for the character of Blair. Pleasence was unable to perform the role due to a scheduling conflict.
The Norwegian dog in the film was named Jed. He was a half wolf/half husky breed. Jed was an excellent animal actor, never looking at the camera, the dolly or the crew members. うまく編集しているなあ、と思ったのだが本当に利口な犬だったのだ。 シベリアンハスキー系っていうと、あんまり頭良くないイメージがあったのだが見直す。 ※ブームでブリーダーが結構、無茶苦茶なことをやったらしい。
To give the illusion of icy Antarctic conditions, interior sets on the Los Angeles sound stages were refrigerated down to 40 F while it hovered around 90 F outside.
There are no female characters in the film. The only female presence in the movie is in the voice of MacReady's chess computer and the contestants seen on the game show that Palmer watches.
A scene containing a blow-up doll was filmed and then left on the cutting room floor. According to John Carpenter, only one crew member was female but she was pregnant and this forced her to leave the shoot; she was replaced by a male. 妊婦は見ないほうが良い映画。
The Norwegian camp scenes were actually the charred remains of the American site from the end of the film. Rather than go to the expense of building and burning down another camp, Carpenter re-used the destroyed American camp. セットもリサイクル
The opening title exactly duplicate's the original Howard Hawks film. To create the effect of the title, an animation cell with "The Thing" written on it was placed behind a fish tank filled with smoke that was covered with a plastic garbage bag. The garbage bag was ignited, creating the effect of the title burning onto the screen. タイトルの撮影方法。 なるほどなあ。もっと難しいことをしているのかと思ったのだが、アイデアの勝利。
This film is considered a benchmark in the field of special makeup effects. These effects were created by Rob Bottin, who was only 22 when he started the project. ボッディン、企画参加時は22歳。
This is the first of John Carpenter's films which he did not score himself. The film's original choice of composer was Jerry Goldsmith, but he passed and Ennio Morricone composed a very low-key Carpenter-like score filled with brooding, menacing bass chords. 今回DVDを見直すまで、音楽もカーペンターだとばかり思っていた。 なんとエンニョオ・モリコーネ。
The female voice on MacReady's computer was performed (uncredited) by the wife of director John Carpenter, actress Adrienne Barbeau. 唯一の女性登場者?はパソコンチェスの声。カーペンターの奥さん。
以下のトリビアはネタバレなので、見るにはマウスで反転を。
In the scene where Norris' (Charles Hallahan) head separates from his body, special-FX designer Rob Bottin used highly inflammable materials for the construction of interior of the head and neck models.
During the shoot John Carpenter decided that, for continuity reasons, they needed some flames around the scene. Without thinking they lit a fire bar and the whole room, which by now was filled with flammable gases, caught fire. Nobody got hurt, but the entire special effects model, on which Bottin had worked several months, was destroyed.